Dedicated to the one I love
by Welshwitch
Summary: McCall dies after being abused


Dedicated to the one I love  
  
Nighttime in LA, the time that people you rather not meet take to the streets. Do their thing in the secret of the dark. Hunter and McCall were out on this warm summer night trying to take at least one of them off the streets. A man had been abusing prostitutes he picked up. Not raping them, just beating the crap out of them. McCall went undercover to catch him, with Hunter nearby keeping an eye on her.  
  
At five in the morning he picked her up at their meeting point, " Hi, I'm glad this night is over. My feet are killing me." "You look like you could use a Hunter foot rub special," he said with a grin. She looked at him and raised her eyebrows, "I do??? I was thinking more of a hot bath. Alone!" Hunter gave her a disappointed look, she laughed "Maybe some other time Big Guy." A comfortable silence settled over the car as they drove on. Neither of them noticed the blue ford that had been following them for a while. Hunter dropped McCall off at her house, "How about I pick you up at three and we do some paperwork before we hit the streets again." " Fine by me, see you at three then," she replied, stepped out of the car and walked on her nylons towards the door. Hunter couldn't help grinning at this site and felt a warm feeling coming over him. That happened a lot lately, especially when he was looking at his partner. The blue ford drove by him but he didn't take notice of it.  
  
As promised Hunter picked McCall up at three and drove to the office. When they got off the elevator Charlie called them into his office, " I decided to put Kitty and Brad on this case as well, just to help you out. The sooner we get this guy the better." "I agree, we could sure use their help," Hunter said looking at McCall who nodded her head in agreement. "Ok, fill them in then." "We'll do." By the time they were finished discussing the case with Kitty and Brad it was time to get out on the street. McCall and Kitty changed into their outfits and were dropped off by their partners who took their positions. It was a quiet night again, Kitty collected some new information about the guy, but that was it. At five thirty McCall walked towards the spot where Hunter was supposed to pick her up when a car pulled up besides her, it was a blue ford. A guy jumped out, grabbed her and before she could do anything dragged her into the alley. "So you think you could fool me by pretending to be a hooker," he said "I know who you are. This will teach you to mess with me." He started to beat her. All McCall could do was try to protect herself with her hands, she had lost her purse with her gun in it. When he was done he left her lying between the garbage. She felt her whole body hurting, her head was pounding, she curled up and cried. Hunter pulled up at the pickup point, but no McCall. He stepped out of the car to look around and his eye caught something, it was her purse. He picked it up and a worried feeling started to creep up on him, "McCall!!!" he yelled, no answer. He went back to the car to get a flashlight and walked into the alley. There was a movement between some garbage bags, he pulled out his gun and shone with his light, that's when he saw her. " My god, what happened," he said as he reached for her, she flinched and curled up even more. " DeeDee It's me Rick," he said softly, she looked up her eyes red and her face already starting to swell. "Rick, he got me," was all she could say before passing out. He took her in his arms, carried her to the car and lay her in the back. "This is L-56, notify Wilshire Memorial, officer injured," he called on the radio as he raced to the hospital. Kitty and Brad heard the call and headed the same way.\  
  
They arrived just before Hunter did and when they saw him pull up ran towards his car. "Hunter, what happened?" Brad asked him, "He got her Brad." was all he said. At that moment two nurses approached with a gurney, Hunter helped them get McCall out of the car and on to it. She was rushed inside. On the way to the ER she started to wake up, "Hunter" she said groggy. "Stop, wait a minute!" he yelled to the nurses and they did. "What is it DeeDee," "He knows.I'm a cop," she whispered, "Car.blue ford." was the last she could say before passing out again. "Sorry Sir, but you can't go into the room with us," one of the nurses said to him as they wheeled her into the exam room, Hunter just stood there as the doors closed in front of him. " Rick, she'll be ok, she's in good hands," Kitty said to him as she put her hand on his arm. "I know," he whispered. They walked to the waiting room and sat down, Brad joined them a few minutes later. "I called Charlie to let him know, he's on his way over. Did she say anything about what happened?" "Just that he got her, he knew she was a cop and he's driving a blue ford." Hunter replied, "Wait a minute, a blue ford. This may be a long shot but a blue ford passed me when I dropped her off at her house yesterday, what if he followed us." "Could be." Kitty answered. "Did you see anything particular about the car, maybe a license plate number." "No nothing." Hunter replied and buried his face in his hands, "How could I have missed this," he sighed. "Hey, you weren't to know this was the guy," Brad said to him, "There was no way you could have seen this coming." At that moment Charlie entered the waiting room, "Anything on McCall yet?" he asked. "Not yet Captain," Kitty replied. "I'm going to get some coffee," Hunter said and left the room.  
  
Fifteen minutes later the doctor came into the waiting room, "Are you with Sgt.McCall?" he asked. Charlie stepped forward, "Yes we are, how is she?" "She's in critical condition, she was beaten so hard that her brain started to swell. We are giving her drugs to try and stop the swelling but she hasn't responded yet." "What's the prognosis?" Charlie wanted to know. "If the swelling doesn't go down within the next 24 hours she could get brain damage or worse." "She could die?" Kitty asked softly. " I'm sorry, she could. The next 24 hours are crucial." Hunter had been listening to all the doctor had said, but wasn't really taking anything of it in, his partner, his love, could die. "Can we see her?" he asked the doctor, "Yes, but only for a minute. Someone will take you to her." The four of them followed the nurse into the ICU room where a battered and bruised McCall was lying, hooked up to all these machines. Hunter's hearts sank when he saw her, he just wanted to turn around and leave the room but didn't. They gathered around her bed, Hunter took her hand in his, it was a warm and soft hand. "DeeDee I don't know if you can hear me, we are all here, Brad, Kitty, Charlie and me. Please keep fighting, we want you back with us." he was trying hard to brush back his tears. Kitty noticed and signaled to Brad and Charlie that the three of them should leave the room and let Hunter alone with McCall for a while. They did. Hunter took a deep breath and started talking again, "DeeDee I should have told you this so much earlier, I love you. I did from the very first moment we met. Please keep fighting, I need you, I don't know what I would do without you." gently he kissed her on the forehead. "I have to go now. We are gonna get the guy who did this. I love you." He went back to the others, "Are you ok?" Kitty asked him. "I'm fine," Hunter replied "We have some work to do."  
  
Back at the precinct they talked about what to do next. There was a big chance the guy also knew who they were and Hunter thought that Kitty would make the perfect bait. To keep a close eye on her he and Brad would go undercover as homeless people. Charlie pitched in by saying that all three of them should wear a wire for their own safety. Reluctantly they agreed. The preparation took the rest of the day and by midnight they hit the streets. During the day several uniformed officers had been interviewing witnesses again to find out anything about the blue ford. They found enough to link the car to a name: Chris Moore. It was a quiet night, much to Hunters frustration and at five they decided to call it a night each going their own way so they wouldn't attract attention to themselves. Chris Moore was sitting in his blue ford watching Kitty get into the car with Charlie. "You are next cop," he said to himself and drove off. When they got to Kitty's house she could see there was a note hanging on her front door, she got out of the car, took the note off the door and went back. The note read: I know you are a cop. If you keep walking the streets you will end up like the other one. "I think it's a good idea that you stay with me till we catch this guy," Charlie said to her. "I think you're right Captain, thanks." Charlie informed Brad and Hunter about the note and that Kitty would be staying with him for a while.  
  
Meanwhile Hunter was on his way to the hospital to see McCall. When he arrived her doctor stopped him. "Any change doctor?" "I wish I could give you some good news Sgt." he started "She's still not responding to the treatment and is still critical." Hunter took a deep breath. "Have you caught the person who abused her yet?" the doctor asked, "Not yet, but we're getting closer." Hunter went into McCall's room and sat down next to her bed taking her hand in his, " Hi honey, it's me. We are getting close to the guy who did this to you. We got a good description of his car and tied it to a name. It's just a matter of time before we get him." He went silent, the only noise cam from the machines in the room. Hunter stayed the rest of the day talking and reading to her, trying to get a response. He was exhausted when he left the hospital at nine in the evening to go to the precinct. Charlie saw him coming in and called him into his office, "You look like hell Hunter, where have you been all day?" "At the hospital with McCall, Charlie," Hunter replied. He saw the worried look Hunter had on his face," She's still critical and not responding to the treatment the doctor said. I talked to her the entire day, but it's like she's not there anymore." Tears started to well in his eyes, "Why don't you go home and get some rest," Charlie suggested. "No! I want to be there when we catch this guy, for McCall." Charlie sighed," Ok, but take it easy." There was no way Hunter would be talked out of this and Charlie knew that so he let him be. Hunter changed his clothes and joined Brad and Kitty to discuss the night's strategy. They knew they had to keep a close eye on Kitty now since the guy threatened her. "Do you still want to do this?" Hunter asked her, she looked at him with a determent look on her face, "Yes I do, for DeeDee." He smiled, "OK, let's go out there."  
  
Chris Moore was sitting in his car watching Kitty as she was walking towards the pick up point. He had been watching her all night waiting for the right moment and this was it. He put his car into drive and drove towards her. Everything went very quick after that, he pulled up in front of her, got out, grabbed her, pulled her into the car and sped off. "I warned you," he said, " But you wouldn't listen. So now you are gonna pay just like the others." Kitty was hoping that Charlie heard everything that happened over the wire and he did. Hunter, Brad and an army of Black and White's were already on their tail. Without knowing Chris Moore was driven towards a roadblock the police had set up. When he arrived there he realized there was no way out and he surrendered. "Are you ok?" Hunter asked Kitty as she was cuffing Chris Moore, "I'm fine, no thanks to this gentleman here." she replied. Hunter turned to him, "I'm gonna make sure you spend the rest of your sorry life in jail mister." Before he could reply two officers took him away. Hunter felt an odd feeling come over him, he felt like he had to go to the hospital as soon as possible. "Can you guys handle this, I need to go," he said to Kitty and Brad. "Yeah sure," Brad told him " What's the rush?" "I don't know but I have to gee see DeeDee," he said "Explain to Charlie for me will you." "We'll do."  
  
Even nighttime traffic in LA can be a pain sometimes so to make things a little easier Hunter put the cherry on top of the car and broke a few speed limits to get to the hospital. McCall's doctor was somewhat surprised to see him, "Sgt. Hunter I was just about to call you." " About to call me? What's going on." he said with a worried look on his face. "Let's sit down here," the doctor said, reluctantly he did. "She had a seizure and went into cardiac arrest, we worked on her for an hour but we couldn't get her heart started again. I'm sorry Sgt. she died fifteen minutes ago." It was like Hunter was hit in the face with a baseball bat, "She died?" he could hardly get the words out of his mouth. "You can see her if you want," the doctor told him, "Yeah, I would like to," Hunter said in a state of disbelief and shock. The doctor took him to the room where McCall was lying covered with a white sheet from the neck down. "I'll make sure you have some privacy." "Thanks doctor." He walked up to the bed and touched her cheek, she still felt warm. "Oh DeeDee, why." he whispered and couldn't stop his tears from falling down.  
  
Hunter didn't really know where to go after he left the hospital, he felt numb. Then he realized he hadn't told Charlie, he pulled the car up to the curb and took the receiver. "This is L-56, could you get me Capt. Devane on tack two," "Roger L-56." "Hunter, what's up," he heard Charlie say. "Charlie she's gone, DeeDee's gone." he said sobbing. "Oh my god, when," "When we were busy picking up the guy who abused her," "Are you gonna be ok, Hunter?" "I don't know, I need some time alone." "Take all the time you need, I'll take care of the rest." "Thanks Charlie." He drove around for a while and ended up at McCall's house, he let himself in. Sitting on the sofa clutching a picture of the both of them she had on the mantle he cried till there were no more tears left, then he fell asleep. Something woke him, a touch on his hand. Hunter opened his eyes and found himself looking at McCall, blood drained from his face. "DeeDee," he whispered "How." "Shhh. I', here cause I need to tell you something. I'm sorry Rick, I just couldn't hold on to life, my body gave up on me. I want to thank you for being there with me, I knew you were there, I could feel you. I want you to go to my bedroom and look in the drawer of my nightstand; you will find a present that I bought for you for Valentine's Day. Remember, I will always be with you, looking out for you and helping you. I love you Rick Hunter." she kissed him and disappeared. Daylight was creeping into the living room when Hunter woke up feeling numb and tired from crying. Then he remembered what happened during the night, could it be real or a dream. The only way he could find out was do what McCall had told him so he went up to her bedroom and opened the drawer. There was a small box inside, he took it out and opened it. Inside was a beautiful watch, Hunter took it out and noticed that it was inscribed: Dedicated to the one I love. Never forget the times we shared. Love DeeDee.  
  
The next few days Hunter spent at McCall's house hiding from the world outside. The day of her funeral was one big blur for him, she didn't want a traditional police funeral so Charlie organized a small but beautiful ceremony. When it was over Hunter walked back to his car, he was about to open the door when he felt a hand on his back, it was Kitty. "Hi," she said, "Hi" "I noticed you are wearing the watch." He looked at her surprised, "How did you know?" "DeeDee confided in me a while ago about her feelings for you. She worked out a plan to tell you on Valentine's Day. I went with her to pick out your present. She really loved you Rick." "I know. I loved her too, I just wish I had told her sooner." "Are you gonna be ok?" she asked "Yeah, I will. Thanks."  
  
Two weeks later, on Valentine's Day, Hunter visited McCall's grave. He kneeled down to put some fresh flowers on it, "Charlie asked me when I would be coming back to work but I don't know if I want to. It will be hard without you. I finally cleared your house yesterday, I never knew you had so many stuff, I nearly broke my back." he said with a smile. Then he reached in his pocket and took out a small box, "It's Valentine's Day today, I wanted to give you this." Hunter took out a silver chain with a locket hanging from it and attached it to the headstone. There was an inscription on it: Dedicated to the one I love. Forever in my heart, Rick. 


End file.
